2007 GS Caltex Maekyung Open - Round 1: Liang sets blistering pace with opening 64

Chinese star Liang Wen-chong celebrated a return to Korea by grabbing the first round lead in the GS Caltex Masekyung Open with a blistering eight-under-par 64 on Thursday.

Liang, who has not played in the Land of Morning Calm since 2003, wielded his putter like a magic wand at Nam Seoul Country Club to snare one eagle, eight birdies and two bogeys and leads the US$600,000 Asian Tour event by two shots from Australian rookie Mitchell Brown, who fired a flawless 66.

New Zealand's Richard Lee and Korea's Yu Jong-goo shared third place with matching 68s, followed by Scotland's Ross Bain and another local stalwart, Lee Gun-hee, a further stroke back. Singaporean number one Mardan Mamat was amongst those tied for seventh place after a 70.

The 28-year-old Liang has been enjoying his best spell as a professional this season, winning his maiden Asian Tour title at the Clariden Leu Singapore Masters in March to join his mentor Zhang Lian-wei as the only Chinese players to win a co-sanctioned event with Europe.

His strong start in Seoul, on the back of a fourth top-10 of the season in Beijing last week, has put him in a good mood. "It's been a while since I last played in Korea, so this eight under round is really nice," said Liang, who is ranked second on the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit.

"I putted really well and coped on the fast greens. I was driving and hitting my irons solid all day and converted most of my putts for birdies from inside 15 feet. I've been playing well since last week and hopefully I can carry the form through the weekend."

The 21-year-old Brown, who joined the professional ranks at the end of last year, initially intended to withdraw from the Maekyung Open after enduring a lean patch with five straight missed cuts on the Asian Tour. However, his father and coach coaxed him to make the trip to Seoul and he was delighted to heed their advice.

"I didn't really want to come initially. I thought about going home to get my head sorted. However, a couple of my mates and my dad asked me to come, so it's all good," he said.

"It's been average the past month or so. I've been pretty hard on myself and it's good to turn it around. I'm taking a different approach this week and I am being a bit more relaxed out there instead of worrying about the game."

Starting on the 10th, a 50-foot putt for birdie set Brown on his way and he capitalised on the par fives at Nam Seoul, shooting birdies on three of them.

"The birdie on the first (10th hole) got me going early. The course is pretty tough but the greens were rolling good. You can hole putts out here," he said.

Defending champion Suk Jong-yul began his campaign with a 71 to lie in tied 16th place with amongst others, 2005 number one Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand and Chinese Taipei veteran Lu Wen-teh.

The Maekyung Open is the 13th leg of this season's Asian Tour, which is offering a record US$28 million in total prize money through the staging of 29 events.

Leading first round scores (click here for full leaderboard)

64 - Liang Wen-chong (CHN)

66 - Mitchell Brown (AUS)

68 - Richard Lee (NZL), Yoo Jong-Gu (KOR)

69 - Lee Gun-Hee (KOR), Ross Bain (SCO)

70 - Mardan Mamat (SIN), Ashley Hall (AUS), Lee In-Woo (KOR), Lee Jin-myung [A] (KOR), Eddie Lee (NZL), Choi Gwang-soo (KOR), Shin Yong-jin (KOR), Kim Kyung-tae (KOR), Lu Wei-Chih (TPE)

71 - Thaworn Wiratchant (THA), Lu Wen-teh (TPE), Choi Jin-ho (KOR), Choi Joon-woo (KOR), Suk Jong-Yul (KOR), Choi Sang-ho (KOR), Bae Sang-moon (KOR), Park Jun-won (KOR)

May 3, 2007

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